Are you Fit Enough, to be Successful?

An object at rest stays at rest, while an object in motion stays in motion …”

With the consequences of Newton’s first law of physics, comes the comparison to business success and physical fitness, at both individual and managerial levels.

Throughout several previous LinkedIn posts, a general theme/ analogy has been used to illustrate recommendations of planning, dedication, focus, etc; and so the question posed to me often, by professionals across many industries has been … so Shawn,what’s the correlation between personal fitness and professional success all about?

For the better part of 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of being compensated, to motivate and train exceptionally successful professionals, with short and long-term fitness goals:

• Business owners of franchises
• Law firm partners and bank executives
• Student athletes and coaches
  etc

Concurrently, I’ve been paid to consult dealer principals, general managers, fixed-operations staff and individual dealership sales consultants, regarding sales process, professional planning, management training and more.

As a result of observations during two decades of extensive 1-on-1 interactions, with very personal conversations, it’s clear that individuals who reach their goals, often have several factors in common, in both their professional objectives and dedication to personal fitness:

1. Identification of area(s) of improvement
2. Action plan with timelines and responsibilities
3. Support and/or direction from associates
4. Defined points of measurement and accountability

I’m not implying that every executive manager can deadlift 300 lbs, nor every 3 handicap golfer serves as a partner at a leading law firm; however, when it comes to predicting success of attaining goals, it’s the client who designs, adheres and improves upon a detailed plan, whom I’ve observed meet their desired fitness level and who tell me of receiving work accolades, commendations, promotions, etc.

While there’s a significant difference between correlation and causation, why wouldn’t you want to better your odds of achieving objectives?

To that point, consider taking the extra step, literally and figuratively … rather than merely use the stairs at work, hike them two at a time and with purpose.  As a sales professional, instead of only reviewing appointments in a CRM and hoping for a “show”, pick up the phone and make the confirmation call (with a rehearsed script, prepared for both live conversation and/or leaving a voicemail).  And as a senior level manager, rather than focusing exclusively on P&L statements, spend a Saturday on the showroom floor, engaging with sales prospects, existing service customers and actively providing encouraging words to staff.

And when you get tired, rest for a moment, but push hard, to get at least one more task completed.

With that last statement, was I referring to completing another set of an exercise, sprinting the last 100 yards, instead of jogging, or making one more cold-call?

And now for some of the science … if you exercise with vigor, with purpose, in each session, you’ll increase muscle mass, burn more calories, create additional neural pathways, challenge balance, mobility and stability … and as it relates to business, have more energy; therefore, with more energy, you’re able to meet client deadlines by being able to focus for longer periods of time, exceed managerial expectations, by being physically capable of handling more stress, and continue progress the next day, by having the energy to get back up.  Referring back to the comment above, about vigor – it’s not about going through the motions.  Functional training and high intensity interval training are both time efficient and results-driven.

This isn’t a post about whether you should do CrossFit versus Zumba versus Pilates … this post is about doing versus not doing, standing versus sitting, being product versus being busy.  And that no matter what your choice, that it’s active versus passive, with purpose versus indifference.

To be so productive day in and day out, is admittedly difficult and also too generic of advice, so a strong, specific suggestion is to secure the services of a consultant, a coach, a trainer.

You’re financially invested, externally motivated and honestly graded.

And with time as possibly your single most valuable commodity, a professional consultant/ trainer should assist in maximizing productivity, while decreasing the frequency of the ‘accordion effect’ – periods of efficiencies, followed by equally lengthy periods of accomplishing little.  Seek out the services of someone who knows when and how to create motivation that lasts.  There’s little difference between a professional mentor and a coach, who knows when to holler versus cajole players and staff.  At different points of a fitness session or sales cycle, a trainer/manager who can modify their approach, to help you repeat dynamic results, is worth the investment of time and money.

For 20 years I’ve worked, sold, marketed, trained and coached others and myself, in the automotive industry and yet; it wasn’t until this post, that I realized … maybe there’s more than one reason, they’re called muscle cars.

Best of luck training and working, to reach all your goals.